Hitsville: The Making of Motown

Aug 24, 2019

1h 53m

★ 7.6

The soul of a city. The rhythm of a nation.

Overview

The remarkable story of the legendary Motown Records is told through exclusive interviews with the label’s visionary founder, Berry Gordy, and many of its superstar artists and creative figures, as well as rare performances and behind-the-scenes footage unearthed from Motown’s vaults and Gordy’s personal archives.

Genres

Documentary

Music

Production Companies

Fulwell 73 Productions

Hitsville: The Making of Motown Trailers

Cast

Self

Berry Gordy

Self

Smokey Robinson

Self

Miller London

Self

John Legend

Self

Robin Terry

Self

Eddie Holland

Self

Brian Holland

Self

Lamont Dozier

Self

Jamie Foxx

Self

Valerie Simpson

Self

Rosalind Ashford

Self

Mary Wilson

Anton Spielmann (18) and his two younger friends Basti Muxfeldt and Jonas Hinnerkort are living in their family homes with their parents in an idyllic village close to Hamburg. The three of them founded the band 1000 Robota. The band has an ambitious aim: „We want to cause creation not to remind of it”, and they want to live up to their ideals. In a society affected by economic pressure 1000 Robota are questioning themselves and others and they don‘t want to meet other people‘s expectations. In a world of excessive supply they are looking for significance and want to unite with others to create a new way of youth culture. But soon they have to face some serious difficulties.

7.4

Sparkle

Apr 7, 1976

Three sisters start out singing in their church choir in Harlem in the late 1950s and become a successful girl group in the 1960s.

0.0

Show!

Nov 28, 2013

A surprisingly intimate portrait of how the dream of running one’s own business can take on monstrous contours. Managed by the father of one of the singers, over the course of five years the girl band 5Angels had reached the gates of pop fame. But it is a path paved not only with the songs of Michal David, but also with the dogged determination of a man who loses any notion of where his role as manager ends and his role as parent begins. An emotionally moved Karel Gott, five angelic girls, and one overly involved father, thanks to whom the behind-the-scenes pre-Christmas atmosphere melts away just as rapidly as the fat should disappear from the belly. “A singer can’t be a lard bucket!”

0.0

Rockin' at the Red Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock

Jul 5, 2005

This documentary pays tribute to the contributions and importance of the title watering hole in the creation of the psychedelic dancehalls that littered the West during the late '60s and helped launch such super groups as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Quicksilver Messenger Service. Music by Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Charlatans is also featured. The Red Dog Saloon had its genesis in 1964 when a group of free-thinking, LSD-enhanced Northern California students and young folks had a party and began thinking about starting up a saloon that would evoke the old West. They decided to build their saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, a once prosperous town that was by then nearly empty. The ambience of the saloon blended Old West sensibilities with modern psychedelia, go-go girls and plenty of illegal drugs. The film is comprised of interviews with surviving founders, actual archival footage, and even a performance of some of the musicians who appeared there.

3.0

Heaven Tonight

Nov 12, 1990

The film covers the conflict between a father and his son both being musicians. The father is the leader of a band making rock-music from the 60s but his son becomes a star of techno-pop music.

6.0

Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee

Oct 9, 2009

An improvised comedy, shot over five days by Shane Meadows, devised with and starring Paddy Considine. Rock roadie and failed musician, Le Donk has lived, loved and learned. Along the way he's lost a girlfriend but he has found a new sidekick in up-and-coming rap prodigy Scor-zay-zee. With Meadows' fly-on-the-wall crew in tow, Donk sets out to make Scor-zay-zee a star...

0.0

Stille Sommer

Feb 17, 2023

Escape from everyday life in freedom and community and live utopias - for many organizers and artists, the secret of the music festivals that make culturally weak Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of people every summer. But instead of freedom, community and utopia, there was one thing above all in the festival summers of 2020 and 2021: silence.

6.7

Dreamgirls

Dec 25, 2006

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

4.6

King of the Hill: A 70th Anniversary Retrospective of Cincinnati’s King Records

Aug 8, 2014

James Brown was the jewel in the crown, but the throne of Cincinnati’s King Records always belonged to its irascible founder, Syd Nathan. This is the 70th anniversary of the legendary record label and studio. It closed shop nearly 40 years ago, in a now long-neglected warehouse on the neighborhood border of Evanston and Walnut Hills, but its impact still reverberates across today’s music.

7.3

The Sparks Brothers

Jun 18, 2021

Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.

7.5

Elvis

Jun 22, 2022

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

7.8

The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On

Apr 24, 2019

Presented by Paul McGann, The Cavern Club and LA Factual have come together to produce "The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On" - a unique documentary feature, telling the untold, complete and colourful story of the 'greatest club in the world'.

0.0

BadPuss: A Popumentary

Nov 9, 2014

An Honest and hilarious look at the music industry through the eyes of an all girl rock band.

9.0

Sharon Osbourne Presents Rock 'n' Roll's Dodgiest Deals

May 26, 2017

Sharon Osbourne presents the story of pop deals through the decades. She looks at some memorably bad and good deals offered to a range of musicians from Little Richard to NWA.

7.7

Welcome to Death Row

Sep 25, 2001

The record label Death Row Records has, since its creation in 1993, been synonymous with the American hip-hop climate. Formed by ex-bodyguard Suge Knight, the label has released seminal rap albums from luminaries including Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and the famous hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur. WELCOME TO DEATH ROW is a fascinating, well-researched documentary which explores the history of this intriguing and incredibly significant company.

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0.0

Martha Reeves - Legends in Concert

Jan 1, 2004

The unforgettable R&B soul diva shows her incredible range with hits like “Nowhere to Run,” “Jimmy Mack,” “Heatwave,” and others.

0.0

No Crew Call

Sep 30, 2023

No overview available.

0.0

Martha Reeves: Live in Concert

Nov 13, 2012

The sweetheart of Motown roars back on stage in this fantastic concert! Recorded in front of a energetic audience, the show contains performances of the Reeves classics Dancing In The Street, Nowhere To Run, (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave and lots more! Reeves has been shining in the spotlight recently with appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing with The Crystal Method, as well as a recent performance on the hit TV show Dancing With The Stars.

0.0

Keep on Burning: The Story of Northern Soul

Dec 3, 2012

Keep on Burning tells the fascinating story of the world's most enduring underground music movement: Northern Soul. Featuring key DJ's, journalists and promoters, including soul radio pioneer Tony Blackburn, Marc Almond and key DJ's, journalists and promoters.

0.0

Saving Dreams

Sep 24, 2017

A naive girl with dreams of stardom, marries a powerful man, who abuses her while running a foundation that protects abused women.